READ 2 TIMOTHY 4:1-5
Good Morning:
I want you to do something for me today:
Close your eyes and imagine that you are Jesus;
Imagine that you are on the cross at Calvary and you’re looking out at the jeering crowd.
You the only human who has never sinned-
You the one who dedicated his life to preaching and teaching the gospel.
You, the one who loves us even more than we love ourselves.
You’re about to die knowing that the world and it sinful community still hates you.
Knowing that from this day on the sinful nature of humankind will do everything in its power to turn the world against you and all that you have taught.
How do you feel?
How does it make you feel to know that you have given it your best shot and still the message you have been trying to get across has not been heard?
How do you feel?
One of my mentors whom I love and respect once gave me some advice when I first began my journey toward ordained ministry that I had to rely on this past week. He said to me:
• There will be times when you feel no one is listening.
• There will be times when you feel you are wasting your time.
• There will be times when you feel like you are inadequate and uncertain of your next step.
• There will be times when you feel like quitting and walking away.
• But hang in there and don’t quit. Give God a chance.
• Continue to trust in God and lead as you have been taught.
• You may not see the fruits of your labor but your rewards in eternity will be great..
Last week I was feeling like no one has been listening.
I felt like I have been wasting my time.
I was even thinking about calling the DS and telling him that I was ready to retire.
I was angry and frustrated because it seemed to me that the message about Faith and obedience I have been trying to convey has not been heard.
And then I heard a voice from God that asked me the question: Did I say you could quit?.
And I remembered Timothy who also suffered from a lack of confidence and how Paul appealed to him when he said:
“the Spirit that God gave us does no make us timid but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”
These were some comforting words at a time when I needed comfort.
As a result my whole attitude changed.
I am no longer angry.
I no longer feel that I’m wasting my time.
And I no longer want to retire- because to quit before my job is done is not and never has been a part of my character.
Another part of my character because of my short fuse has been to re-act or overreact before I’ve had time process the situation and it usually makes the situation worse.
I think God that I am still able to learn.
I thank God this morning that I took the time to reflect back to the first Good Friday and imagine how Jesus must have felt as he watched the people he loved rejoice in his suffering.
When Jesus came on the scene everything he taught was considered to be radical.
He talked about:
Loving your neighbor as you love yourself.
Turning the other cheek when someone slapped you,
Giving your cloak to someone who stole your coat.
Serving the poor.
Feeding the hungry.
Building treasures in heaven
Serving only one God.
All these teachings were considered to be radical because they were outside of the norm.
They were the extreme and the exact opposite of what people wanted to hear.
Guess what: these same teaching are still considered radical by many God fearing Christians today.
Let me ask you something.
If you thought you could make a difference in the world by giving up everything you have accumulated in the form of material wealth –including your home or homes, your friends, family, and anything else that you can think of, would you be willing to do it.
If the Holy Spirit spoke to you and whispered in your ear and said: “I want you to cast everything aside and dedicate the rest of your life to serving only me as my Disciple living only to please me and my Father.
Would you do it?
Be honest- If you would be willing to follow in the footsteps of the disciples, or Mother Teresa or some of the first Christians who lived in common.
Please Raise your hand.
One of the reason that many of you failed to raise your hand is because you’re listening to the wrong voice.
Each of us has two voices that are constantly whispering to us telling us what to do.
One voice is the voice of the Holy Spirit.
This is the voice that says walk by faith and not by sight.
This is the voice that encourages us to walk and live by the Spirit.
This is the voice that says we should cast human wisdom aside when dealing with the matters of God because it is only foolishness. Paul teaches in 1 Cor. 3:18-23.
18Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise.
19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say,“He traps the wise in the snare of their own cleverness.”
20And again,“The LORD knows the thoughts of the wise;
he knows they are worthless.”
21So don’t boast about following a particular human leader. For everything belongs to you— 22whether Paul or Apollos or Peter, or the world, or life and death, or the present and the future. Everything belongs to you, 23and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
The Holy Spirit is the voce we need to be listening to. Not the other voice which is the voice of the Flesh!
This voice encourages us to do the things that make sense to us. To believe and trust in only that which we can see and justify.
This voice says, don’t take risks for God.
Don’t step out in faith wait until you can see the outcome.
It tells us to do all the things contrary to what the spirit tells us to do because it is the enemy’s voice and it will tell us exactly what our human minds want to hear to get us to disobey God.
The voice of the flesh says we should live according to our own human wisdom because the things of God are not certain.
Don’t fall for these lies! John says in 1 John 2:15-17:
Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 16For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. 17And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.
The sad part is- it is the fleshly voice that we most often listen too.
Jesus tells us not to worry about anything because God knows our needs and he make sure that we have all we need when we need it.
Jesus says in Matthew 6 beginning with verse 33, that we are to seek first of all after his kingdom and his righteousness.
And then everything we need in life will be given to us.
Jesus says that we are not to store up treasures of the world that will only last but instead we should be storing up treasures in heaven .
But what do we do?
We try to accumulate as much as we can and we try to hold on to as much as we can.
We won’t turn loose of one dollar until we can see at least 2 more coming to take its place.
Where is your treasure stored?
Is it in 1st National , Chase of Citizens?
Maybe in other investments such as stock and bonds.
Is it in the things of the world?
Or Is it in the things of the kingdom and the righteousness or God?
That’s a question that each of us will have to answer for ourselves.
I started a practice when I was in seminary. Each time I received a financial blessing I would share it with someone else in need.
You know what I found out.
The more I gave away, the more that kept coming back.
I completed my Masters program which was over $100,000 including housing , books and tuition, without taking a loan, or going in debt in anyway, while earning a salary of 10, 800 a year as a part time local pastor.
And on graduation day I had almost 2,000 in my pocket and a bill that said paid in full. Well done good and faithful servant. I live by faith not by what the media or my bank account tells me I can do.
When I left going to Kentucky to begin classes in 1998,
I drove a car I didn’t trust in the city.
I had no money for the first semester’s tuition
And I knew absolutely no one in Wilmore, Ky.
I hope this helps you understand why I’m such a strong advocate to living by faith.
The voice of the spirit says have faith.
Believe in me and put your trust in me.
It says if you see someone in need and you are not quite prepared to give them all of what they need—give them what you have.
My first appointment was in the Cass Corridor in Detroit. Talk about faith, it took almost as much faith to go there as it did to come here.
But I did because I stopped listening to the voice of the flesh and started listening to Jesus.
The church I served in Detroit was made up of about 50 people of which two thirds were developmentally disabled.
The other one third was made up of members who drove in from the suburbs.
The annual gross for donations was about 40K a year.
But that church started and still operates a ministry to the homeless, ministry to mothers with aids, substance abuse ministries, warming center for the homeless, meals on wheels, clothing center, food pantry, housing for men who are coming off drugs and need time to transition back into society, they even put together a band made up of ex drug offenders who now travel all over the country singing for Jesus and raising money for the church.
Why are they able to do so much? Because a woman of God had the faith, and answered a call from God and began stepping out on faith.
That church and it subsidiary and with the small membership and hardly any money took in more the 6 million dollars in 2008 for ministry projects.
The problem with most people who lack the faith to step out for God before they see the however, is they are paying too much attention to the wrong voice.
The enemies voice says don’t listen to God. Gather all you can and hold on as tight as you can.
But the voice of God who says: Trust in me. Don’t rely on your human wisdom because it is only foolishness.
Believe in me and I will show you exactly what to do.
This is radical thinking today because people have turned away from the teachings of Christ and are relying on their own human wisdom to get them through this world and into eternity with God.
We cannot have it both ways.
We cannot live seeking after the pleasures that satisfy our human nature and live according to the will of God.
We have to make a decision.
Folks, there is only one way to enter the Kingdom of God and that is through the Gate that has been prepared and opened by Jesus Christ.
The road is difficult.
It was difficult for the first disciples.
It was difficult for Jesus.
And it is difficult for you and me.
But it is possible if we love the Lord with all of our heart and love our neighbor as ourselves.
Seek ye first the Kingdom and don’t worry about anything else. Amen.
